I get paid to inspire women to follow their hearts, step into their power and bravely put themselves out there.
My heart tells me I am capable but my mind sometimes has major doubts about my abilities. I know the truth is my years of international experience make me qualified, however, I fear I won’t live up to expectations.
I am by far not the only one who suffers from severe and crippling doubt. In fact, it is the major hurdle most of my clients face. Luckily I have personal experience and I am able to offer some suggestions of what to do when you feel like you are unable to do anything good at all.
- Stop what you are doing
Nothing good comes from the energy space of self-doubt, defeat and powerlessness. If possible physically remove yourself from where ever you are and have a change of scenery. This will allow the mind some time and space to let positive thoughts in. It may also help to inject some positivity into your working environment by adding inspiring quotes, images and/or books you can refer to often.
According to New York Times bestselling author Dr. Hallowell, “Often the stickiness of a particular change can be greatly improved by making sure that we set up the EXTERNAL environment to support the change in behavior and change in mindset that we are working on achieving.”
- Take a walk (preferably in nature)
When I am feeling really stuck or flat I go for a walk in nature and I am reminded how small my problems are in the vast and majestic world we live in. It seems my intuitive instinct is backed by science. According to Hippocrates, “Walking is mans best medicine”. His ancient wisdom has been proven time and time again. In fact, a huge study conducted in the USA using data from more than a million people over four years, found that people who exercised had 43 percent fewer self-reported “bad” mental health days, compared to people who didn’t exercise at all.
Even if you are only able to walk around the office or home, a little is better than nothing.
- Focus on a feel good moment
When one area of my life is not going as I expect, the negative energy starts to seep into all other areas of my life. Because one thing is not working, I somehow convince myself everything is not working. What I have discovered is when I focus on a feel-good moment suddenly the light seems to shine all over.
According to Shawn Achor, who has been quoted as being one of the world’s leading experts on human potential, and bestselling author of ‘the Happiness Advantage’, “A quick burst of positive emotions doesn’t just broaden our cognitive capacity; it also provides a quick and powerful antidote to stress and anxiety, which in turn improves our focus and our ability to function at our best level.”
Truth is we are all good for something and we are here to make a difference in our own unique way. When we allow ourselves to wallow in a negative state of being, we are not the only ones who suffer, so too will those we are here to serve. In my case I know I am not perfect and by sharing my imperfection, I am hoping someone else can relate and change their pattern also.